News of his death has brought cardinals to Rome, their minds already turned to the election of a new man to run the 1.1 billion-member Church.

Roman Catholic cardinals gathered yesterday for the first time since Pope John Paul?s death to organise a funeral expected to draw the greatest tide of pilgrims and heads of state to the Vatican in its history. The body of Pope John Paul, who died on Saturday ending a historic but sometimes divisive papacy spanning 26 years, will be taken to St Peter?s Basilica later in the day for public viewing.

US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick said as he left Washington on Sunday that it was an ?extraordinary responsibility?.

?It?s awesome. And in a very special way, you have to get yourself up to it,? he told reporters. Up to 200,000 worshippers gathered in St Peter?s Square on Sunday to hear the Pope?s own words read out at a Requiem Mass for the world?s best known religious leader, who helped topple communism and stamped a rigid orthodoxy on his Church. ?It is love which converts hearts and gives peace,? said the text, which was read out by an archbishop.

Inside the Vatican, the Pope?s corpse, clad in crimson and white vestments, was put on view for the world by Vatican TV. His face clearly showed signs of the physical suffering that racked him in the final days of his life.

Personal aides, cardinals, bishops, nuns, dignitaries and Vatican employees filed past the man they had served and loved for more than a quarter of a century. Hundreds of thousands of faithful will pay their respects when his body is transferred to the cavernous basilica on Monday before the funeral, which many believe will be held on Friday.

Roman authorities are braced for as many as 2 million mourners, including more than 100 heads of state, in the largest such event the city has seen.

?For us it is an extraordinary test, of the most tremendous importance. It?s going to be like organising the Jubilee in just 48 hours,? said city Mayor Walter Veltroni, referring to the 2000 Catholic Jubilee which drew a non-stop stream of visitors. The death of the Pope at the age of 84 unleashed an outpouring of grief far beyond the confines of the tiny Vatican state.

No shades of grey

Tens of thousands took to the streets of his native Poland for open-air masses, and flags flew at half mast in communist Cuba and above the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. China, long hostile to the Vatican, offered condolences as did several Muslim leaders. ?This pope will go down as John Paul the Great,? said the Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle, one of the bishops promoted on March 30 in John Paul?s last round of appointments. ?With him, there were no shades of grey. It was either black or white, especially in the area of morality.?

This uncompromising stance alienated many Catholics, especially in the developed world, who often ignored his unyielding views on sexual morality. Some liberal Catholic commentators tempered their tributes by criticising his traditionalist line on women, homosexuals and contraception and what they called his laggardly response to the scandal of child sex abuse by the clergy. The conclave must start within 15 to 20 days of his death, drawing together 117 cardinals aged under 80 in the Vatican?s Sistine Chapel.

According to pre-written rules, they must then decide the funeral rites. John Paul is expected to be interred in a crypt under St Peter?s although there have been rumours in Poland that his heart might be buried in his homeland. The cardinals are to meet daily before the funeral, but could decide as earliest when to open the conclave.

<B>Philip PULLELLA Crispian BALMER</B>